Failed Negotiation Processes

Failed Negotiation Processes

The Cyprus issue has been on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council since the Greek Cypriot side violently occupied the government of the “Republic of Cyprus”, which was established by the international 1960 Treaties and was based upon a partnership between the Turkish Cypriot people and the Greek Cypriot people.

Since 1968, under the framework of the United Nations Good Offices Mission, numerous negotiation processes have taken place with the aim of reaching an agreement based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation founded on the political equality of the two sides, and there remains no issue that has not been discussed between the parties. Throughout all these processes, the Turkish Cypriot side has consistently adopted a constructive approach towards proposed solutions. However, due to the uncompromising attitude of the Greek Cypriot side and its unwillingness to share a common future with the Turkish Cypriots, all negotiations between the two sides have ended in failure.

All plans for a possible agreement which emerged throughout the negotiations, including the 1985-86 Draft Framework Agreement, the UN-sponsored Set of Ideas of 1992, the Package of Confidence Building Measures of 1994 and the UN Comprehensive Settlement Plan in April 2004 (a.k.a. Annan Plan), were rejected by the Greek Cypriot side. The most recent example of this is the process which started in 2008 and ended with no result in Crans-Montana in 2017, once again, due to the intransigence and maximalist positions of the Greek Cypriot side.

UN Comprehensive Settlement Plan (2004)

After two and a half years of negotiations on its specifics, the UN Comprehensive Settlement Plan, also known as the Annan Plan, was presented to the parties on 31 March 2004. The Plan was submitted separately and simultaneously to the two peoples in Cyprus for approval on 24 April 2004. While the Plan was rejected by an overwhelming majority of the Greek Cypriot people (75.83%), the Turkish Cypriot people, despite the many challenges it would bring for them, approved the Plan with a majority of 64.91%. The rejection of the Plan by a large majority of the Greek Cypriot side was strongly influenced by the speech of then-President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, on 7 April 2004, in which he called on the Greek Cypriot people to say a strong ‘No,’ stating, ‘I received an internationally recognized state. I will not hand over a community without the right to speak internationally.’ This situation clearly demonstrated once again that the Greek Cypriot people and leadership were not ready to share power and prosperity with the Turkish Cypriot people on the basis of equality.

Following the Turkish Cypriot vote (65%) in favour of the Annan Plan, the Council of the European Union adopted a resolution on 26 April 2004, stating that “The Council is determined to put an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community.” Similarly, the Council of Europe, in its Resolution 1376 of 29 April 2004, states that “The international community, and in particular the Council of Europe and the European Union … should take rapid and appropriate steps to encourage it [greater openness]. The Turkish Cypriots’ international isolation must cease”.

Although the Council of the European Union pledged on 26 April 2004 to end the isolation of Turkish Cypriot people without any preconditions, this decision is yet to be implemented.

Moreover, the then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan made a call in his Report to the UN Security Council, dated 28 May 2004 (S/2004/437) in which he stated “I would hope that they [the members of the Council] can give a strong lead to all States to cooperate both bilaterally and in international bodies, to eliminate unnecessary restrictions and barriers that have the effect of isolating the Turkish Cypriots and impeding their development…”

The UNSG also underlined in his said Report that “if the Greek Cypriots are ready to share power and prosperity with the Turkish Cypriots in a federal structure based on political equality, this needs to be demonstrated, not just by word, but by action.”

Despite the failure of a comprehensive solution to the issue as well as its overwhelming rejection of the Annan Plan, the Greek Cypriot side, illegally and unilaterally, has become a full member of the European Union in 2004. The admission of the Greek Cypriot Republic to the EU was contrary to both the 1960 Constitution and the EU's own criteria, and this step was essentially taken as a tool to exert pressure on the Turkish Cypriot side and Türkiye. The Turkish Cypriot people, on the other hand, who voted in favor of the Annan Plan, continue to be subjected to illegal restrictions and an all-encompassing isolation.

The unilateral membership of the Greek Cypriot side in the European Union further emboldened the Greek Cypriot leadership's intransigence and brought dialogue between the two sides to a standstill until 2008.

2008-2017 Negotiations

In September 2008, negotiations resumed for a “bi-zonal, bi-communal federation”, based on the same UN parameters which failed to lead to an agreement on the island for so many decades. The said negotiations took place intermittently until the Cyprus Conference in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in July 2017.

The Cyprus Conference, which was attended by the two sides, the Guarantor powers and the United Nations, collapsed due to the maximalist demands of the Greek Cypriot side. This confirmed, once again, that the Greek Cypriot side’s lack of desire to share power and prosperity with the Turkish Cypriot people persisted.

Following the collapse of the Cyprus Conference, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for a period of reflection for the sides to decide the way forward and emphasized that novel ideas were needed for a new effort to yield results.

Thereafter, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declared that it will no longer be negotiating on the basis of the tried-and-failed, defunct UN parameters, which are in fact the very reason behind the status quo on the island.

Informal 5+UN Meeting (27-29 April 2021, Geneva)

On 25 November 2019, the UN Secretary-General met informally with the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders. After the meeting, in a written statement, the Secretary-General informed that he would continue his efforts to explore the possibility to convene an informal 5+UN meeting, with the participation of both leaders and the Guarantor powers at an appropriate time.

The United Nations Secretary-General, in his Report dated 8 January 2021 (S/2021/5), clearly defined the purpose of the informal 5+UN meeting, leaving no room for any other interpretation. He stated that “The purpose of the meeting will be to determine whether common ground exists for the parties to negotiate a sustainable, lasting solution to the Cyprus problem within a foreseeable horizon”.

The Turkish Cypriot side also clearly stated that the exercise was not an endeavor to find common ground, but rather to determine whether common ground exists between the sides. The Turkish Cypriot side also noted that any potential new process should not be an open-ended one.

Upon the official invitation of the Secretary-General, an informal 5+UN meeting aimed at determining whether common ground exists took place in Geneva on 27-29 April 2021. The participants were the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot sides as well as the Guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece, and the United Kingdom.

At the 5+UN informal meeting, the Greek Cypriot side and Greece did not bring about a new vision but repeated a carbon copy of their speeches in Crans-Montana, paying lip service to a “bi-zonal, bi-communal federation” agreement, pretending that they were ready to continue the negotiations from where they were left off.

On the other hand, the Turkish Cypriot side participated in the meeting with an open mind and determination to explore whether common ground exists that would pave the way for formal negotiations. The Turkish Cypriot side was the only party to heed the call of the Secretary-General, by putting forth its new vision which calls for the acknowledgement of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people and their State. The Turkish Cypriot side also explained the logic behind its new vision, which is based on the reasons of failure of the federation model that did not bring a solution to the Cyprus issue over the last 50 years.